Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 35 - Making a Bigger Cake

Chapter 35: Chapter 35 Making a Bigger Cake

Editor: Henyee Translations

Zhang Yuan thought for a couple of seconds, then took the microphone from the host. He suddenly felt that there weren’t as many conspiracy theories as one might think.

This blonde girl was quite adorable. She was likely genuinely thinking this way when she asked the question.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuan said slowly and steadily, “Ma’am, there’s a concept you might have misunderstood.”

“Every year, the funds allocated for poverty alleviation by the government and various charity organizations amount to several hundred billion. It’s real money, donated by the people of each country. These kind-hearted people have sacrificed their own interests to help others. Indeed, they are very great.”

“But the 167 trillion produced by the aerospace industry each year is gross domestic product, not real money. It doesn’t belong to the Deep Space Foundation but is collective wealth created by 43 million space workers and 2.2 billion surface workers, involving 273 large and small industries…”

...

“If there weren’t this 167 trillion in GDP, I think there would be more than two billion additional people living in poverty on Earth. Everyone would have a worse living experience…”

“Therefore, the amount of money donated for poverty alleviation and the total output value are two concepts that shouldn’t be confused.”

“As for your question, I can answer it like this: the aerospace industry is equivalent to enlarging the pie, while donating to the poor is merely redistributing the pie. I am more inclined towards the concept of ‘enlarging the pie,’ which is why I donate money to the Deep Space Foundation…”

The audience below listened intently.

Zhang Yuan’s speech had a measured pace and clear logic, as if all his notes had already been prepared.

Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing were quietly discussing: “I didn’t expect him to be so eloquent. He’s usually quite shy.”

“Maybe it’s just an act!”

“Haha, this is Zhang Yuan’s true self!”

Zhang Yuan continued, “…Why did I make this choice?”

“Ms. Angelica, I wonder if you have ever taken the space elevator or personally witnessed the entirety of the Solar System. If you have truly seen the vastness of space, you would realize that the cake of aerospace is astonishingly large, a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times larger than you imagine!”

“As long as this cake is made well, it can feed hundreds of billions, even trillions of people!”

“The poverty alleviation you mentioned is just a minor issue.”

“However…”

“The difficulty of getting a slice of this cake is daunting. Billions are merely a drop in the bucket; trillions are just a drop in the ocean. The space elevator behind us, humanity’s first, consumed trillions in funding and took a full twenty years to build!”

“…No private capital has the determination and ability to spend decades building a 36,000-kilometer space elevator, seemingly without any output, except for non-profit organizations like the Deep Space Foundation…”

“If, a hundred years ago, there had been no investment in this space elevator and no generous donations from those idealists, I think we might still be confined to the small Earth, living in widespread poverty. Even with controlled nuclear fusion, we would still be poor.”

“That’s why I donated the prize money my father received to the Foundation, though it’s just a drop in the ocean; it’s also my heartfelt wish…”

“We need more like-minded people to expand this pie together and let more people enjoy its benefits.”

“As for the poverty alleviation issue you mentioned, it’s not that it’s unimportant. I highly agree with your idea and greatly admire your benevolence. But we in Xia Country have an old saying: ‘Teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish.’ Simply giving them money and food will only raise a group of lazy people, and there’s no essential improvement.”

“…I believe that only through education can their lives be changed. As for this aspect, the Deep Space Foundation has a charitable department in online education, aiming to spread education through remote networks, but I won’t elaborate here. If you’re interested, you can look into it.”

“Thank you!”

A burst of even more enthusiastic applause broke out.

Zhang Yuan’s response was smooth and sophisticated; it was impeccable from any angle.

The blonde journalist just opened her mouth, unable to speak.

Although she herself was not convinced, the audience had been convinced, and that was enough.

“Professor Wang, Zhang Qiming’s son is quite impressive, very articulate.” The Foundation’s vice-chairman, Liu Yi, said happily, “It’s as if we specially arranged for it.”

“With a scientist’s son donating ten million, those wealthy bosses have to bleed heavily!”

Wang Zhong chuckled without speaking, but the pride in his heart was hard to conceal.

Praising his disciple’s grandchild was far more satisfying than praising himself.

The Deep Space Foundation was a behemoth, possessing not only massive political influence and technological power but also having vast shares in the aerospace industry and space elevators. For those capitalists, cooperating with the Foundation was a win-win situation.

Of course, to achieve a win-win, they first had to catch the Foundation’s eye …

Anyway, they should donate a bit first.

After all the awards were presented, the winners stepped onto the stage for a group photo, followed by various artistic performances and donation activities.

Zhang Yuan stepped off the stage and sat quietly in his seat.

Professor Wang gently patted him, giving an encouraging look.

“Professor Wang, I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?”

“You spoke quite well!” Wang Zhong said with a laugh.

Professor Wang Zhong watched as one after another, capitalists took the stage to donate, with deep emotion: “If Mr. Qi Yuanshan could see this scene, he would certainly be gratified.”

In the world, people pursue benefits, even if these capitalists were only in it for profit, not for ‘ideals,’ it was still a healthy cycle.

It is easy to embellish the present, but offering help in desperation is as difficult as ascending to the heavens; those hard days were a story from a hundred years ago, even before Wang Zhong was born.

Qi Yuanshan, known as the “Einstein of Material Science,” was a true giant in the field.

His three most outstanding achievements were “High Magnetic Saturation Superconducting Material,” “Mass Production Method of Carbon Nanotubes,” and third, of course, some sociological content of the New Civilization School.

Why was controlled nuclear fusion difficult? There were many reasons, such as neutron radiation and the triple product, but a very important point was—magnetic field confinement was not strong enough.

The magnetic field confinement had to be strong enough to hold the violent plasma in place to make the circulator’s nuclear fusion reaction stable and last longer.

But having a strong enough magnetic field wasn’t just about increasing the current.

In material science, there’s a phenomenon called “magnetic saturation.” When the external current and coil density reach a certain size, the magnetic field won’t increase further.

No matter what you do, the magnetic field remains the same; deal with it yourself.

Reaching the limit of magnetic field confinement still wasn’t strong enough to hold the plasma, which became an almost unsolvable problem.

And Professor Qi Yuanshan’s breakthrough “High Magnetic Saturation Superconducting Material” straightforwardly and dramatically increased the original magnetic field strength tenfold!

Tenfold!

As a result, the violent plasma was obediently contained, and many problems were no longer problems. “Controlled Nuclear Fusion Technology” finally appeared in the world, albeit late.

In that era, without oil and with scarce energy, Professor Qi’s reputation was like the midday sun, being called the “Father of Nuclear Fusion.”

The second major achievement was the mature production technology of carbon nanotubes, making them very cheap. This material’s tensile strength was over 100 times that of steel, and its density was only 0.03 grams per cubic centimeter, making it an excellent building material.

Such a scientific giant’s influence extended into the modern era, admired by many scientists.

However, at that time, Professor Qi’s “Proposal for the Construction of a Space Elevator” was rejected by the government.

The investment was too large, too large for Xia Country, just recovering from an energy crisis, to accept…

…

As for what happened later that ultimately caused such a significant change in government stance, Wang Zhong didn’t know.

He only knew that the space elevator was built on schedule and was almost complete by the time he was born.

Xia Country gambled its national destiny for 20 years and finally bet on a bright future!

Historical historians still frequently talk about this past event with great relish up to the present.

A country’s development, taking one step puts you ahead in all steps thereafter.

So it is with a civilization.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

Without that brave step, perhaps the Earth would still have no space elevator and no beautiful present.

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